Feral colonies are started when a domestic cat owner sets their pet free to fend for themselves.

A cat rescue group in Fredericton has launched a province-wide cat colony survey. CARMA Cat Rescue is collecting data on feral cat colonies in New Brunswick to address what they're calling a cat crisis.

The SPCA determined through a survey in March that there are more than 60 colonies in the municipality's communities, some of which have more than 500 cats.